Gordon Ryan has recently started wearing a gi in training in order to help Nicholas Meregali prepare for his appearance at the upcoming IBJJF Grand Prix event. Meregali is one of eight top grapplers competing in the tournament, one which will take place without any weight limit and has a grand prize of $40,000 on the line. The IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix is set to take place on September 1st, 2023 and although Meregali is definitely one of the early favorites to take home the title, there aren’t any easy matches waiting for him in the bracket.
The other 7 men competing in the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix are all top competitors in their own right and Meregali will have to defeat 3 of them in one day in order to stand on top of the podium. Beating 3 of the best gi competitors on the planet is tough for anyone but Nicholas Meregali has got one of the greatest grapplers of all time helping him prepare in Gordon Ryan. It’s incredibly rare to see Ryan training in the gi and the two rulesets have plenty of differences, but they also have a lot in common too.
Even without the extensive competition experience in the gi that other grapplers might have, Ryan is still one of the best training partners anyone could ask for. Meregali will be getting hours of practice in all under the watchful eye of John Danaher, and it’ll be interesting to see how well it pays off when he steps on the mats at the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix.
Gordon Ryan revealed that he was wearing a gi in training to help Nicholas Meregali prepare for the upcoming IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix in a recent post to his official Instagram account. Meregali also shared the same image and left the following comment:
“In less than 6 months (Gordon Ryan) is tapping out every Gi athlete in the world. I wish you guys luck”
